You're My Light, I'm Your Fire
by kg1507
Summary: The conversation I imagine followed after the new clip of Astrid and Hiccup in HTTYD2, in which Hiccup is in dire need of a pep talk.


A/N: This is total fluff. The fluffiest kind of fluff. You've been warned. Also, the parts that are bolded signify line from the trailer and clips that were not written by me.

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"**Just, hold still!" **Hiccup said, chuckling as he gently squeezed her arms. **"Very serious."** Though his face betrayed anything remotely related to "serious." Astrid screwed her face up and nodded mockingly, playfully. It was normal for them to joke and tease each other on a regular basis, and after five years they knew each other well enough to know which lines should not be crossed. There wasn't much that either of them hadn't shared with the other, or at least talked about - and they talked about everything.

Astrid composed herself, getting one last giggle out of her system before relenting. "Ok, ok," She waved her hands. "I'm good, I promise. So, what did your dad say?"

Hiccup sighed, running his fingers through his hair and groaning. He leaned backwards and hit the ground with a dull thump and closed his eyes. "He wants to start teaching me about being the chief."

Astrid looked down at him. "Well, that's not really surprising, is it? I mean, you're the chief's son, and you're old enough now."

Hiccup nodded quickly, "I know, I know, I just..." He sat up and crossed his legs, plucking blades of grass between his fingers. "I knew this day was coming. I'm his son - I know it's my legacy to take over one day, my_ job_. But..." He turned to face her, worry in his eyes. Astrid had only seen that look a few times before, whenever he was afraid of letting someone down. Or failing.

"What if I'm not "chief" material?" Hiccup said. "I mean, how do you follow a guy like my dad?"

Astrid gave him a look, eyebrows raised. "Hiccup, you trained a dragon. You changed everything around here." She scooted closer to him and took a strand of hair in her fingers and deftly started braiding. "Don't you see how much better off Berk is since we were kids? People don't run for their lives anymore, and we live with the most powerful creatures in the world." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't you think the guy who did that would make a pretty good chief?"

Hiccup didn't look at her. She could feel his muscles tense beneath her palm. "I don't know. What if that's not good enough? I can protect dragons, sure. But... What if I can't protect the people? What if they don't think I'm good enough?"

Astrid let go of the tiny braid and let her fingers rest lightly on the nape of his neck. She laid her forehead on his shoulder and breathed deeply, smelling leather and dirt and the charcoal sticks he always carried to draw with. And something else, so singular and specific that it could only be described as 'Hiccup.'

"I do." She replied. His shoulder relaxed as she felt him soften, and she looked back up. "You're not your dad, but you don't have to be him to be a good chief, Hiccup. You're not like any Viking who ever came before you, and that's amazing. You can use that to be someone we'll look to to protect us, and I know you're capable of doing it." She placed her hand over his heart, fingering his braid again as she often did. "You don't have to be afraid, Hiccup. **What you're searching for, is in here.**" She softly kissed his cheek, hardly minding the thin strand of dragon slobber that stretched between them that could only be Toothless's.

Hiccup turned his head, smiling crookedly. "How do you always know the right thing to say?"

Astrid shrugged and smirked, lightening the mood. "It's a gift. You can shower me with praise later." As Hiccup chuckled, her interest was piqued by the map laying before them. She bent over it, her eyes squinting at his sloppy handwriting. "You are _not_ naming this place 'Itchy Armpit,' Hiccup."

"I know. It's just temporary until something else comes to mind." Hiccup reassured her. "I gotta admit, I'm starting to run out of ideas."

Astrid jabbed at one corner of the map, her voice rising two octaves. "Does this say, "Mount Snotlout?" She said exasperatedly. "Hiccup!"

He held up his hands in defense. "Ok, he was bugging me for two weeks about getting to name something and honestly, I've never seen him so determined about anything in my life. I had to give in." He leaned over the map too, his side brushing hers. "Of course, then the others found out and decided they wanted to name something too. Soo..." He began pointing to different sections of the map. "We have 'Fishlegs Cavern,' 'Ruffnut Rock,' and 'Tuffnut Island.'"

"You gave him a whole island?" Astrid said, incredulous.

"It's a very _small _island."

Astrid laughed and then sat back, sticking her tongue out of the corner of her mouth as she framed the scenery before her with her hands. She was thoughtful for a moment. "I know - you can name this place after me." She punched his shoulder. "I'm the only one left without one."

Hiccup rubbed his shoulder and looked away sheepishly. "Ahh, no, not this place."

"Why not?" Astrid asked, feigning hurt. "C'mon Hiccup, it's only fair. You're gonna let Snotlout have a mountain but you won't even give me a bunch of trees and and a cliff?" She jested, crossing her arms and glaring.

He carefully, slowly began folding up the map, not looking at her as he cleared his throat. "I'm saving yours for a really good one. The most... beautiful place anyone's ever seen - that's the one that gets your name." His cheeks were tinged with pink as he opened a compartment on his arm and placed the map inside. When he met her eyes again, her lip was caught between her teeth and a cheshire-cat smile stretched across her face.

"You are so... _corny_, Hiccup." Astrid shoved him backwards, giggling at his surprised expression as he toppled over.

Hiccup laughed, carefully moving his prosthetic leg away from her face as he righted himself. "Come on, Astrid, if you don't know by now that I'm a hopeless romantic, then you haven't been paying attention at all." He wiped at a grass stain on his elbow, laughing quietly until he felt Astrid's hand on his knee.

Her eyes shone brightly as she looked at him, that particular way she did sometimes that made his stomach turn similar to a barrel-roll in the clouds when he went flying with Toothless. It almost felt like flying in itself.

Astrid took his hand and squeezed it. "One condition," She said slyly. "When you find this-" She gestured grandly with her free hand. "_Beautiful_ beyond compare land of yours, you get to take me there before anyone else. So I can approve your decision." She smiled, her features softening in a way that only Hiccup was privy to - letting him know that he had succeeded despite her teasing words.

He helped her up and draped one arm loosely around her shoulders, leading her back to their dragons and ready to turn home, so long as she was always there to guide him.

"Deal."


End file.
